Contest Update Issues

Contester's Rate Sheet for March 9, 2005

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Contester's Rate Sheet
9 March 2005
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Edited by Ward Silver N0AX
SUMMARY
o Russian DX and WI, OK, VA QSO Parties
o NA RTTY Sprint and BARTY Spring RTTY Contest
o NCJ News by Carl K9LA
o WRTC2006 Raffle
o W9NA/W9RQM - Silent Key
o Records for CA QSO Party and Feb CW Sprint results now on-line
o Fluke Web site and Markings on Bolt Heads
o On the Soapbox
BULLETINS
o Ed N1FMP needs to let you know that the mailing address previously
available for VT QSO Party logs was wrong - the correct town and Zip
code is South Barre, VT 05670 and NOT East Barre, VT 05649. Log
acceptance is being held open a few more days to accommodate the
resulting delays.
BUSTED QSOS
o John K8AJS notes that there is no 160 meter operation on the NAQP
RTTY contest.
o Frankie ON5ZO caught an error in the addresses for UBA Contest logs.
They should go to ubassb@uba.be for SSB and to ubacw@uba.be for CW.
Paper logs go to Carine Ramon ON7LX, Bruggesteenweg 77, B-8755
Ruiselede, Belgium
ANNOUNCEMENTS & NOTICES FOR 9 MARCH TO 22 MARCH 2005
Logs are due for the following contests:
March 9 - ARS Spartan Sprint (Mar), email logs to: hjohnc@core.com,
post log summary at: http://www.arsqrp.com/ars/ss_log.html, paper logs
and diskettes to: (none)
March 10 - Delaware QSO Party, email logs to: QSOparty@fsarc.org,
paper logs and diskettes to: Contest Chairman - FSARC Inc, PO Box
1050, Newark, DE 19715, USA
March 11 - KCJ Topband Contest, email logs to: kcjlog@freeml.com,
paper logs and diskettes to: Yasuo Taneda, JA1DD, 279-233 Mori,
Sambu-town, Sambu-gun, Chiba 289-1214, Japan
March 11 - CQ WW RTTY WPX Contest, email logs to: wpxrtty@kkn.net,
paper logs and diskettes to: CQ RTTY WPX Contest, 25 Newbridge Road,
Hicksville, NY 11801, USA
March 12 - North American QSO Party, RTTY, email logs to:
rttynaqp@ncjweb.com, Upload log at:
http://www.ncjweb.com/naqplogsubmit.php, paper logs and diskettes to:
Shelby Summerville, K4WW, 6506 Lantana Ct, Louisville, KY 40229-1544,
USA
March 12 - Wake-Up! QRP Sprint, email logs to: ru2fm@rol.ru, paper
logs and diskettes to: Wake-Up! QRP Sprint, PO Box 229, Lipetsk
398043, Russia
March 13 - British Columbia QSO Challenge, email logs to:
ve7ccy@rac.ca, paper logs and diskettes to: Delta Amateur Radio
Society, c/o Tsawwassen Community Police Station, 1108 56th Street,
Delta, BC V4L 2A3, Canada
March 14 - FISTS Winter Sprint, email logs to: W8PIG@yahoo.com, paper
logs and diskettes to: Dan Shepherd, N8IE, 1900 Pittsfield St,
Kettering, Oh 45420, USA
March 14 - OMISS QSO Party, email logs to: (none), paper logs and
diskettes to: OMISS QSO Party, c/o Don Banta, K5DB, 3407 Diana St,
Springdale, AR 72764, USA
March 15 - Minnesota QSO Party, email logs to: wa0mhj@arrl.net, paper
logs and diskettes to: MNQP, 4745-170th Lane NE, Ham Lake, MN
55304-5233, USA
March 15 - Louisiana QSO Party, email logs to: laqso@w5yl.org, paper
logs and diskettes to: LAQSO Party, 508 Hache St, Houma, LA 70364, USA
March 15 - AGCW Semi-Automatic Key Evening, email logs to:
semiautomatic@agcw.de, paper logs and diskettes to: Manager,
Ulf-Dietmar Ernst, DK9KR, Elbstrasse 60, D-28199 Bremen, Germany
March 15 - YLRL YL-OM Contest, SSB, email logs to: wx4mm@tm-moore.com,
paper logs and diskettes to: Mary Moore WX4MM, 1593 Lee Road 375,
Valley, AL 36854, USA
March 20 - ARRL School Club Roundup, email logs to: (none), paper logs
and diskettes to: School Club Roundup, c/o Lew Malchick, N2RQ,
Brooklyn Technical HS, 29 Fort Greene Place, Brooklyn, NY 11217, USA
March 21 - ARRL Inter. DX Contest, CW, email logs to: DXCW@arrl.org,
paper logs and diskettes to: ARRL Intl DX Contest, CW, ARRL, 225 Main
St, Newington, CT 06111, USA
The following contests are scheduled:
Note that the following abbreviations are used to condense the contest
rules summaries:
SO - Single-Op; M2 - Multi-Op - 2 Transmitters; MO - Multi-Op; MS -
Multi-Op, Single Transmitter; MM - Multi-Op, Multiple Transmitters; AB
- All Band; SB - Single Band; S/P/C - State/Province/DXCC Entity; HP -
High Power; LP - Low Power; Entity - DXCC Entity
HF CONTESTS
RSGB Commonwealth Contest - CW - sponsored by the RSGB from 1000Z Mar
12 -1000Z Mar 13. Open to British Commonwealth stations only, work
stations once per band outside your own call area. HQ stations may be
worked by everyone and count as a separate call area. Frequencies:
lower 30 kHz of 80-10 meters. Categories: SO - open (full-time), -
restricted (12 hrs max), Headquarters - MO and SO, no spotting
assistance. Scoring: 5 pts/QSO, first 3 QSOs with a call area count 25
pts. For more information: http://www.rsgbhfcc.org/. Logs due April 4
to commonwealth.contest@rsgbhfcc.org or G3UFY, 77 Bensham Manor Road,
Thornton Heath, Surrey CR7 7AF, England.
Wisconsin QSO Party - Phone/CW - sponsored by the West Allis RAC from
1800Z Mar 13 - 0100Z Mar 14. Frequencies (MHz ): CW - 3.550, 3.705,
7.050, 14.050, 21.050, 10-meters; Phone - 3.890, 7.230, 14.290,
21.350, 28.400; All modes - 6/2 meters, UHF. No repeater QSOs.
Categories: SO, MS, MM and Mobile. Mobile operators may not operate on
county lines. Exchange: S/P/C or WI county. QSO Points: Phone - 1 pt,
CW - 2 pts. Score: QSO pts x WI counties (max 72) + S/P/C (WI stations
only) x 2 (< 5 W), 1.5 (<150 W). WI mobiles/portables add 500 bonus
points for each county with 12 or more QSOs. For more information:
http://www.warac.org/. Logs due Apr 13 to k9kr@arrl.net (in WARAC
Cabrillo format - see Web site) or Wisconsin QSO Party, West Allis
RAC, PO Box 1072, Milwaukee, WI 53201.
Oklahoma QSO Party--Phone/CW/Digital - sponsored by the Oklahoma DX
Association (OKDXA) from 1400Z - 0200Z Mar 12 and 1400Z - 2000Z Mar
13. Frequencies (MHz): SSB - 3.860, 7.260, 14.260, 21.360, 28.360; CW
- 3.545, 7.045, 14.045, 21.045, 28.045. Categories: SOHF-HP (>100W),
-LP, -QRP (<5W), SO-VHF, MS, MM, Rover (OK only). Exchange: signal
report and S/P/C or OK county. QSO points: Phone - 2 pts, CW/Digital -
3 pts. Score: QSO points x OK counties (OK stations us OK counties +
S/P/C) counted only once. For more information: http://www.okdxa.org/.
Logs due April 30 to logs@okdxa.org (ADIF or CABRILLO format
preferred) or OKDXA, PO Box 2591, Claremore, OK 74018-2591 (<200 QSOs
only).
North American RTTY Sprint, sponsored by NCJ from 0000Z-0400Z Mar 13.
Frequencies 80 -- 20 meters. North American stations work everyone;
others work NA stations only. Exchange both callsigns, serial number,
name, and S/P/C. The same station can be worked multiple times
provided 3 contacts separate the contact in both logs, regardless of
band. QSY rule: Stations calling CQ, QRZ, etc, may only work one
station in response to that call; they must then move at least 1 kHz
before working another station or 5 kHz before soliciting another
call. Once you are required to QSY, you may not make a new QSO on the
previous frequency until you have made a contact at least 1 or 5 kHz
(as required) away. For more information: http://www.ncjweb.com/. Logs
due 7 days after the contest to rttysprint@ncjweb.com or Douglas
McDuff W4OX, 10380 SW 112th St, Miami, FL 33176.
AGCW QRP Contest - CW - sponsored by the DL CW Activity Group
(DL-AGCW) from 1400Z - 2000Z Mar 12. Frequencies: 80 through 10-meter
bands. Categories: SO-VLP (<1 W), QRP (<5 W), MP (<25 W), QRO.
Exchange: RST, serial number, category, and AGCW member number. QSO
Points: QRP-VLP, QRP-QRP, VLP-QRP and VLP-VLP count 3 pts, QSOs with
MP and QRO stations - 2 pts, QRO-QRO not allowed. Score: QSO points X
AGCW members counted once per band. For information -
http://www.agcw.de/. Logs due Mar 31 to qrp-test@agcw.de or Edmund
Ramm, DK3UZ,
Anderheitsallee 24, Bramfeld, D-22175 Hamburg, Germany
Russian DX Contest-CW/SSB - from 1200Z Mar 19 - 1200Z Mar 20.
Frequencies: 160 - 10 meters. Categories: SOAB -HP, -LP (<100W), -QRP
(<5W, Mixed only), SOSB, MS (10 minute rule), SWL, SO may enter Mixed
Mode, CW, or SSB, MO and SWL are Mixed only. Exchange: RS(T) + serial
number, RU stations - RS(T) + Oblast designator. QSO points: own
entity - 2 pts, different entity, same continent - 3 pts, diff. cont.
- 5 pts, with Russians - 10 pts. Score: QSO points x DXCC entity +
Oblasts, counted once per band. For more information:
http://www.rdxc.org/. Logs due 45 days after the contest to
rusdxc@contesting.com or to Russian DX Contest, PO Box 88, 119311
Moscow, Russia.
Virginia QSO Party - Phone/CW/Digital - sponsored by the Sterling Park
ARC from 1800Z Mar 19-0200Z Mar 21. Frequencies (MHz): CW - 1.805 and
50 kHz up, Phone - 1.845, 3.860, 7.260, 14.270, 21.370, 28.370,
Novice/Tech - 28.370, VHF/UHF - 50.125, 144.200, 146.58, 223.50,
446.00, Digital - normally accepted sub-bands. No repeater or
cross-mode QSOs. Categories: SO, MS, MM and Mobile. Exchange: serial
number and VA county/city or S/P/C. QSO Points: Phone - 1 pt, CW or
Digital - 2 pts, VA Mobile - 3 pts. Score: QSO Points × VA
city/counties + S/P/C (counted only once). VA mobiles add 100 pts per
VA city/county activated. Add 500 pts for QSO with K4NVA. For more
information: http://www.qsl.net/sterling. Logs due April 15 to
nq4k@arrl.net or Virginia QSO Party, Call Box 599, Sterling, VA
20167.
10-10 Mobile Contest - any mode - sponsored by 10-10 International,
from 0000Z-2359Z Mar 19. Frequencies: 10-meters only. Categories:
Fixed, Mobile. Exchange: Call, Name, S/P/C, county (US, Canada, and
England) and 10-10 membership number, if any. QSO Points: 1 pt/QSO.
Score: Fixed - QSO Points x counties, Mobiles - QSO Points x counties
worked + counties activated. For more information:
http://www.ten-ten.org/. Logs due Apr 4 to tentencontest@alltel.net or
Steve Rasmussen N0WY, 312 N. 6th Street, Plattsmouth, NE 68048.
CLARA and Family HF Contest--Phone/CW - sponsored by the Canadian
Ladies ARA, from 1700Z Mar 19-1700Z Mar 20. Frequencies (MHz): CW -
14.033, 21.033, 7.033, 3.688, Phone - 28.300, 21.225, 14.120 14.285,
7.033, 7.200, 3.750, 3.900, work CLARA and YL stations once per
band/mode. Crossmode contacts count as phone for both stations.
Categories: SO only, no time limit. Exchange: RS(T), name, QTH, and
whether CLARA member, Family member, non-member YL, or OM. QSO Points:
5 pts for CLARA-members, 2 pts for CLARA family members, 3 pts for
non-CLARA YLs, 1 pt for OMs. Multipliers are VE provinces and DXCC
entities (only if QSO with YL) counted only once. Score: QSO points x
multipliers. For more information:
http://www.qsl.net/clara/contest.html. Logs due April 24 to
ve7vpe@rac.ca or Paulette Schouten, VE7VPE, c/o VECTOR, 3301 East
Pender Street, Vancouver, BC V5K 5J3, Canada
9KCC Contest--CW/SSB--sponsored by the 9K Contest Club (Kuwait) from
1200Z -- 1600Z Mar 20. Frequencies: 15-meters only, work stations only
once. Categories: SO, SSB or CW for 9K or non-9K. Exchange: RS(T) and
serial number. QSO Points: 1 pt/QSO. Score: QSO points x DXCC entities
+ number of different 9K stations. For more information:
http://www.qsl.net/9kcc/9KCCRule.htm. Logs due 30 days after the
contest to 9k2rr@9kcc.com or Contest manager: Faisal N. Al-Ajmi
(9K2RR) PO Box 1124, Alfarwanya 80000 Kuwait
BARTG Spring RTTY Contest - sponsored by the British Amateur Radio
Teledata Group from 0200Z Mar 19 - 0200Z Mar 21. Frequencies: 80 -- 10
meters. Categories: SO-Expert, SOSB, SOAB (one band change per 5 min),
MS, MM, and SWL. SO operate 30 hours total with off periods of 3 hours
min. Operators with a Top Ten log during the past three years must
enter as an Expert. Exchange: three-digit serial number and four-digit
time. Multipliers: DXCC entities + W/VE/JA/VK call areas, counted once
per band. Score: QSOs x multiplier x continents (count only once). For
more information: http://www.bartg.demon.co.uk/. Logs via email only in
Cabrillo format due May 1 to ska@bartg.demon.co.uk (with the call and
entry class in the subject line and the log included as an
attachment).
VHF+ CONTESTS
No VHF+ contests are scheduled.
NEWS AND PRESS RELEASES
The Rate Sheet is now officially past the Terrible Twos, turning the
ripe, old age of three with this issue. Subscriber totals continue to
grow - we number 12,500 and growing. Pass the word! Thanks to the
loyal readership for making the Rate Sheet so welcome in Inboxes
across the land.
Look for the 2004 November CW Sweepstakes Web article to be available
shortly. Mailing of the 2004 IARU certificates is ongoing. The listing
of Logs Received for the 2005 January VHF Sweepstakes was posted to
the ARRL Web. (Thanks, Dan N1ND)
NCJ News by Carl K9LA, Editor - You should have the March/April issue
in your hands by now (or very soon!), and I hope you enjoy the variety
of features in this issue. Rick K6VVA's article about voice contesting
without a microphone and Al K3LC's wrap-up of his two-part article
about buried radials versus elevated radials generated some recent
reflector traffic, so look for more on these topics in future NCJs.
The May/June issue will include an NCJ Product Review of N1MM Logger,
two technical articles about getting the optimum performance out of
your 4-Square array, some sage advice from our resident contest
doctor, and an interesting in-depth analysis of VHF contest activity
(and a lot more!). Finally, with Field Day just around the corner,
we'll have the updated Field Day records. As always, feel free to
e-mail Carl at editor@ncjweb.com.
The World Radiosport Team Championship Organizing Committee is pleased
to Announce a raffle to win a free trip to Florianopolis, Brazil for
"WRTC Week" which will be held July 7th - 10th, 2006. Two (2) grand
prizes will be awarded (each for one (1) person) at the Contest Dinner
at the Dayton Hamvention. One prize will be drawn in May 2005 and the
second prize will be drawn in May 2006. Each grand prize includes
round-trip airfare, hotel accommodations, guest pass to WRTC events
and meals, and your choice of N5TJ or K1TO as your operating partner.
(Just kidding about that last item.) Look for a WRTC2006
representative at a major hamfest or convention or mail a check made
out to "NCDXF" in multiples of $10 to W6OAT at his http://qrz.com/
address. (Thanks, Jeff K1ZM)
Thomas KN4LF reminded me of another "best-kept secret," his in-depth
propagation forecasts that are available at the KN4LF Daily LF/MF/HF
Radio Propagation Outlook: http://www.kn4lf.com/kn4lf6.htm. It's
published every Thursday at 2200Z and it covers a full week. N0AX
says, "Check it out!"
Bernd VK2IA (better known as DL1VJ) has written a short article on
last year's CQWW CW operation as VK9AA from Cocos-Keeling with photos,
background information, links, and other interesting items. It's
available on the VKCC web site at
http://www.vkcc.com/stories/vk9aa_04.shtml. For those of us locked in
the cold and wet or snow of late winter, what better than a tale of a
sandy, tropical island?
Whenever you're about to take on a DX contest, be sure to update your
"Country" or CTY files, maintained by Jim AD1C. You can download them
from http://www.k1ea.com/cty/. Please be sure to follow the
installation instructions in the file README.TXT (Thanks, Jim AD1C)
If you're a contest sponsor and would like to spread the word about
your event, be sure to post the rules to the Contest Rules reflector
hosted by Tack JE1CKA at contest-rules@ne.nal.go.jp. Email with your
rules will be delivered to Web site, newsletter, and magazine editors
the world over. (Thanks, Tack JE1CKA)
Fred K3ZO observes that it would be an unfortunate omission were the
passing of Reno Goetsch, W9NA on February 25 at the age of 88 to go
largely unnoticed by the contest community at large. For so many years
Reno as W9RQM was "Mr. Contest" of Wisconsin. Alumni of the University
of Wisconsin club W9YT have also been effusive with their
reminiscences.
RESULTS AND RECORDS
A really nice set of 10-year statistics and all records for the
California QSO Party have been prepared by Al AD6E and posted at the
CQP Web site: http://www.nccc.cc/newsletter.html. 22 records were set
in 2004, sunspots or not! Well done on the speedy production, Al!
(Thanks, Marc W6ZZZ)
Results from the February CW sprint can be viewed at
http://www.kkn.net/~tree/cwsprint-200502-scores.txt. That's another
pretty fast turnaround - good work! (Thanks, Tree N6TR)
Logs received and the applicable entry class for the Canada Winter
Contest 2004 have been posted on the Radio Amateurs of Canada web site
at http://www.rac.ca/service/infocont.htm. You may also download the
listing directly from
http://www.rac.ca/downloads/racwintercontest2004logs.pdf . Please take
a look and advise of any errors or omissions via canadawinter@rac.ca.
(Thanks, Sam VE5SF)
Results from the Low Power Spring Sprint Contest have been posted at
http://www.hamradio.sk/ and http://www.sq.sk/. (Thanks, Alex OM6SA)
TECHNICAL
If you are on the prowl for projects that are just right for students,
check out the ARRL Education and Technology Program Kits and Projects
page at http://www.arrl.org/FandES/tbp/kits-projects.html. There's
guaranteed to be something there to spark an idea or two.
Jan WB6VRN and Cheryl, KB0QJJ, recommend RPN Calculator (and its
companion polynomial root finder, Polyroot) for Mac OS X users as
their preferred complex number arithmetic calculator for scientific
and engineering problems. RPN Calculator can be had at
http://www.rpncalculator.net/ and there's a Windows(tm) version, too!
Here's a great time and blood pressure saving tip: Always fit tower
sections together on the ground, then mark the male and female of one
leg with a piece of tape. You will always know the right way to mate
the sections on the tower. (Thanks, Dick W7ZR)
While you were cranking the tower up and down last weekend to find out
why the signals were so weak, you could have been doing some
preventive maintenance as described by Steve K7LXC in this informative
posting on the Towertalk reflector:
http://lists.contesting.com/archives/html/Towertalk/2002-03/msg00040.html.
(Thanks, Pat Barthelow AA6EG)
One of the great things about the Web is that manufacturers are now
posting product manuals, service manuals, etc. for download. If you
have a Fluke meter, they have a great site at
http://us.fluke.com/usen/support/manuals/default.htm. (Thanks, Lynn
N7CFO)
You might find this web site helpful for bolt head marking data:
http://www.unified-eng.com/scitech/bolt/boltmarks.html (Thanks, Bruce
AA4Z)
Not only does Elecraft make terrific rigs, but other useful products,
as well. "A super test tool for your receivers (great for alignments)
and your entire RF path from the antenna to the RX, is the little
Elecraft XG1 signal generator (kit). It makes a perfect 50 uV (-73
dBm) and 1 uV at 7.040. The harmonics are useful on the higher bands
as well. It's battery-powered for portability. 9-year-old Danny built
mine in less than an hour! (Thanks, Tim K3LR)
With all the interest in low-band gain arrays, such as the
four-square, so, too, does interest arise in methods of making phase
measurements. If this sounds familiar to you, check out the following
article, "W8WWV - Hex Array - Using the Oscilloscope to Make Phased
Array Measurements - by Greg Ordy" at
http://www.seed-solutions.com/gregordy/Amateur%20Radio/Experimentation/HexAr
ray/UsingScope.htm. This is a very detailed presentation and gives a
lot of very useful information. (Thanks, Jim WB5WPA)
CONVERSATION
On the Soapbox
(Your editor has a head cold and his higher cognitive powers are
limited to not slobbering directly onto the keyboard, so your
forbearance is appreciated. The benefit of congestion, however, is a
deep, Neigerian baritone voice that sounds REALLY impressive on
conference calls. I'm just a couple days too late to use it in the
contests.)
Whoa, some conditions last weekend in the ARRL DX SSB contest, eh? A
real character-building experience from all accounts. Ah, the bottom
of the cycle with a disturbed ionosphere... Nevertheless, one bright
spot remains for all of the ARRL-sponsored contests, and many others.
That being, of course, the on-line ARRL Soapbox
(http://www.arrl.org/contests/soapbox) or other Web postings of photos
and stories from the participants.
One of the kicks for me has always been getting my comments included
in the writeup. After all, if I'm not racking up a six-figure score, I
can get noticed in other ways. Well, with the Web-based comments, you
can put your smiling face and tribander in front of thousands of other
contesters.
While the official writeups are limited to a few words and maybe one
picture, with the on-line Soapbox, you can give us a full tour of the
shack and aluminum farm. Plus, your beaming countenance will make us
work that much harder to pull your call out of the pileups, of
course!
There are only a couple of postings from last weekend - yes, I know it
was just too painful. But why not share your experiences with a couple
of photos or a line of prose? Be sure to post that photo of the Chief
Op asleep at the microphone or the cat purring on top of the
amplifier. Be funny! Be detailed! Go nuts! The Web sites can hold
quite a lot of material and the more posted, the richer it becomes.
This is where photos of "High Hill, OH" can cause a chuckle in shacks
everywhere
(http://www.arrl.org/contests/soapbox/index.html?con_id=72&ofst=10).
So while you're licking your wounds from doing battle with the
ionosphere last weekend, throw a couple of photos up there for the
rest of us. And while you're at it, browse through some of the other
Soapbox pages. Warning - it's addictive! See you in the Box - the
Soapbox, that is.
73, Ward N0AX
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The Contester's Rate Sheet wishes to acknowledge information from the
following sources:
WA7BNM's Contest Calendar Web page -
http://www.hornucopia.com/contestcal
ARRL Contest page - http://www.arrl.org/contests
SM3CER's Web site - http://www.sk3bg.se/contest
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